Ak Bars vs Admiral. Which of the opponents will start the quarter-final series with a victory?
The quarterfinal confrontation between Ak Bars and Admiral starts on March 16 with a game in Kazan. The first meeting of the series will take place on the ice of the Kazan Tatneft Arena.
The first round of the playoffs performed by Kazan hockey players became a logical continuation of the regular season. Ak Bars entered the current season in the rank of the main favorite, having a whole scattering of domestic hockey stars in its composition. As a result, the team suffered for almost half a season more than it played, which led to the natural resignation of Oleg Znark. Zinetula Bilyaletdinov was once again called upon to bring the Bars out of the crisis, with whose name all the major successes of Ak Bars in the KHL are connected. The experienced coach did not disappoint this time either, Barça had a great second part of the regular season, managing to finish first in the East.
It would seem that Bars, without slowing down, without any problems, will overcome the first round of the playoffs, fortunately, Neftekhimik, who is missing stars from the sky, turned out to be the rivals. The expected easy walk did not work out. The advantage in individual skill was leveled by the crazy dedication of the Neftekhimik hockey players, and at a certain moment the age stars of Ak Bars simply lacked physical strength. After four matches played in the series, there was a sensational draw - 2:2, but in the end, the higher class of the Kazan team affected and Ak Bars managed to win two victories in a row (6-1 at home and 4-2 away), thereby ending the series against Neftekhimik in six matches.
Admiral
If for Ak Bars reaching the second round of the Gagarin Cup playoffs is quite an ordinary event, then Admiral has already given out his best season in history, for the first time in his existence, having managed to get into the quarterfinal stage of the draw. At the same time, there were no special prerequisites for such a breakthrough before the start of the season. A modest budget, geographical remoteness - all this forced the coaching staff to complete the team according to the residual principle, gathering under their banners those hockey players who did not fit more eminent clubs. Nevertheless, the Admiral played the regular season quite smoothly, without dropping out of the cup eight for all six months. As a result - seventh place in the East and Salavat Yulaev from Ufa as an opponent in the first round of the playoffs.
It would seem that the outcome of the confrontation was a foregone conclusion, the Ufa looked like the clear favorites of the series. The intrigue appeared after the first match, in which the Admiral managed to win on the road. In the next three matches, the teams exchanged victories, going to the fifth match with an equal score of 2-2. And here it is worth paying tribute to the character of the Admiral's hockey players, who first managed to put the squeeze on Salavat Yulaev in Ufa, scoring the winning goal in overtime, and then win a strong-willed victory at home, losing 0-1 during the match.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Ak Bars vs Admiral
Ak BarsThe first round of the playoffs performed by Kazan hockey players became a logical continuation of the regular season. Ak Bars entered the current season in the rank of the main favorite, having a whole scattering of domestic hockey stars in its composition. As a result, the team suffered for almost half a season more than it played, which led to the natural resignation of Oleg Znark. Zinetula Bilyaletdinov was once again called upon to bring the Bars out of the crisis, with whose name all the major successes of Ak Bars in the KHL are connected. The experienced coach did not disappoint this time either, Barça had a great second part of the regular season, managing to finish first in the East.
It would seem that Bars, without slowing down, without any problems, will overcome the first round of the playoffs, fortunately, Neftekhimik, who is missing stars from the sky, turned out to be the rivals. The expected easy walk did not work out. The advantage in individual skill was leveled by the crazy dedication of the Neftekhimik hockey players, and at a certain moment the age stars of Ak Bars simply lacked physical strength. After four matches played in the series, there was a sensational draw - 2:2, but in the end, the higher class of the Kazan team affected and Ak Bars managed to win two victories in a row (6-1 at home and 4-2 away), thereby ending the series against Neftekhimik in six matches.
Admiral
If for Ak Bars reaching the second round of the Gagarin Cup playoffs is quite an ordinary event, then Admiral has already given out his best season in history, for the first time in his existence, having managed to get into the quarterfinal stage of the draw. At the same time, there were no special prerequisites for such a breakthrough before the start of the season. A modest budget, geographical remoteness - all this forced the coaching staff to complete the team according to the residual principle, gathering under their banners those hockey players who did not fit more eminent clubs. Nevertheless, the Admiral played the regular season quite smoothly, without dropping out of the cup eight for all six months. As a result - seventh place in the East and Salavat Yulaev from Ufa as an opponent in the first round of the playoffs.
It would seem that the outcome of the confrontation was a foregone conclusion, the Ufa looked like the clear favorites of the series. The intrigue appeared after the first match, in which the Admiral managed to win on the road. In the next three matches, the teams exchanged victories, going to the fifth match with an equal score of 2-2. And here it is worth paying tribute to the character of the Admiral's hockey players, who first managed to put the squeeze on Salavat Yulaev in Ufa, scoring the winning goal in overtime, and then win a strong-willed victory at home, losing 0-1 during the match.
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